Pen beam for ruling machines



Feb. 3, 1942. A. BROADMEYER 2,272,145

' PEN BEAM FOR RULING mcnmns Filed Sept. 19, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 3, 1942. A. BROADMEYER 2,272,146

PEiJ-BEAM FOR RULING MACHINES Filed Sept. 19, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 3', 1942 mannin Albert Broadmeyer, BrooklynbNg ass gnja to 1 John McAdams & S'6ns,.,lInco1:p9rated, Norf T A walk,"Conn., a corporation oiCon-necfticut j, a a 7 September 19, 1938,'{Serial No.-295,16 '7-7 l Y 2 y ciai mor ise-i 34) Application This invention relates to pen beams for ruling machines, such-'beams'being, as is well known,

the means for supporting ruling pens, andby' means of which the pens are raised and lowered to control their operation 'upon the paper.

The Wooden and metal beamsheretofore used have been subject to difiiculty heretofore unsolved, namely that 'in struck work the pens have staggered following the striking movement, thatis to say, the ends of the pens vibrate from side to side for a brief period afterhaving been brought down on -to'the paper, resulting in the lines adjacent struck points being wavy, the waves diminishingfrom the place of striking as the vibrations die out.

One object of this invention 'isto provide a novel pen beam having all the advantages of previously used beams, and the useof which eliminatesstaggering or vibration of the pens that it supports.

Another object is the provisionin'apen beam of :novel pen-clamp that villsecurely and uniformly grip a number of "ruling pens, one that is readily operable, and one in which pens may be easily inserted. j Another object is to provide apen beam having novel structure with relation to the part of the beam mounted on the machine. I- have discovered-that a 'beam made o'iianartificial plastic or resin, aside *from havingdesirable qualities of beingnomabsorbent'and nonwarping, has the unexpected]characteristic of staggering ofithe-p'ens thatit carthat is eliminating ries when ruling struckwork.

that permits readyadiust ment of a, pen-clamping portion of the beam I attribute-this desirable quality of beamsmade of such materials to a characteristic of the material. "Such materialihas'a dead, o'rno'nresilient characteristic, whereas wood and metal are 'springy, orresonant. Bodies otWo'od or metal of the 'size' and shape of penybeams transmit vibrations, and. 'whemsubjected to impact they set up vibrations. Artificial plastics and resins of similar sizes and shapes donot vibrate when subjected to impacts; and theyappearto damp out vibrations instead fof transmitting them. "Since ruling pens are of thin, 'springy metal, and project laterally'fro n apen beam, when such a beam vibrates'even slightly,'as fol lowing the impact of striking, the vibrations are transmitted to the pens and magnified at the. points of the pens to cause avery appreciable I .waving of the ruled lines.

Such waves are not with a beam made of -the material'herein dise os ;v q v 'riie material that regard aft pre's'e'nt as s uv pen beams is laminated paper; base Bakelite, a connnercially avai lable"substance perior for use. in

that is produced in shapes -s'uitable for manufac aiter -be'ing aS'sembIed it-Ofte'nbeing mum that c thestrips ias d'elivered' are -out of true. A Solid, one-piecei-body or; the material '-=is not readily trued when- -distorted,=but a laminatedbod-y, in which surfaces: of adjacent pieces may 'slipfmay be easily and atccurately Js'traightened; and. will retain itstruedyiorm withicompletelyisatisfactory sag when "supportedatiintervals;

accuracy, whereas:aorre piecewbody wilitendato 1 "Thel-b'eamsihustra d in the accompanying drawingsare particularly suitable "for employ ment-of the'fmateriahabove' mentioned, and when made of such material will:eliminate stagger from struck work; It' wil-l'be appreciated, how'' ever, thatthefbeamsdisclosed have novel structure1that--is useiul when materials heretofore regarded asc'onventional are emp1oyed J ln the acco'mpanying drawings! Figure l is a fragmentary perspective view of one 'iorm 0f pen beamgembodyingthis invention; Figure 2-i's' a fragmentary bottom planview; Figure B'iS a fragmentary vertical section;

' Fig ure :4- :is; a fragmentary "perspective of amodified -loeamhaving provision for adjusting Figure 3. v Deseribi'ng 'th found in work ruled upon a "machine equlpped the lateral j position or the pens without disturbingl their-relativepositions; '5

Eigure -Eis a fragmentary bottom plan;

Fi'gure sea sectional view 'online" 6 5 of I i es 4 h I FZi'g u-re '7--1s fa' fragmentary perspective I o'fanother modifiedfbeani embodying? theinventiong' Figure 8 is a- "fragmentary bottom plan, and'f Figure 'is a sectional view 'on li'n'e 9-;9 oi

4 H H U Q QLIi i/WlflgS more particularly, ans-war in s. i -fl atiathe numeral-l0 indicates an elongated bodythat-com of Bakelite or other plastic compositions, and this may be conveniently accomplished by form- I ing the body ID of upper and lower plates I2 of equal width and an intermediate narrower plate l3, the forward edges of the plates being flush so that the groove H is provided between rear portions of the plates l2. The plates l2 and I3 are secured together by screws [4, which may be threaded into tapped holes in the material of the plates. A reinforcing angle I5 may be applied to the lower front corner, and a brass covering sheet l6 may be clamped between the forward edges of the plates and the arm of the angle that overlies them.

The pen-clamping portion of the beam comprises a body designated generally I1 that has a forwardly extending tongue l8 that engages in the groove wherein it may be clamped by thumb screws I9, as indicated in Figure 9. Preferably the body I1 is formed of a main plate that extends forwardly to form the tongue I8, and a cap plate 2| that overlies plate 20 and the forward edge of which abuts the rear edge of the upper plate |2..

In order'to secure pens, as 22,.a plate 23 is secured below the plate 20, such plate 23 having a flat upper surface that underlies inface to face relation the portion of the flat lower surface of the plate 20 that lies rearward of the tongue portion l8. It will be understood that the plates 20, 2| and 23 are preferably made of the Bakelite composition referred to above.

The lower plate 23, which is in effect a clamping jaw that cooperates with plate 20 as .the other jaw, is spaced at itsforward edge from the under surface of the plate 20 by aninterposed spacer 24 which advantageously is in the form of an elongated strip that; extends the length of the beam. Tightening members, are

provided in the form of bolts 25 that extend from the top of the body I! through the lower plate 23 and that carry wing nuts 26 on their lower ends. It will be seen that when the nuts 26 are tightened and the plate 23 thereby drawn up, the upper surface of the plate will be drawn into angular relation with the lower surface of the main plate 20.

An elastic tongue 21, advantageously of relatively stiif sheet rubber is interposed between the adjacent surfaces of plates 20 and 23. As shown, this tongue may be interposed between the spacer 24 and the under surface of plate 20, and both it and the spacer secured to plate 20 by screws 28, shown; in Figure 3. The tongue extends to the rear edges of the plates to provide a resilient and slightly yielding surface against which the pen shanks may be securely clamped. Since it is free from both plates to the rear of the spacer, it also affords a selection in the position in which the pens are mounted, as their shanks may be inserted either above or below the tongue.

In Figures 4 to 6 is illustrated a beam assembly arranged to permit ready lateral motion of the pen-holding portion of the beam uponthe t ,2'"2',14 stitutes the supporting element of a pen beam supporting portion, a structure that is useful when it is desirable to shift an existing setup of pens in their precise arrangement.

In this embodiment the supporting member is in the form of a metal channel having a bottom web 29 and side arms 30. This channel is arranged for transverse mounting upon a ruling machine.

The pen-holding section of the beam comprises a plate 3|, its under surface adjacent the forward edge carrying a pair of oppositely disposed angles 32, arms 33 of which engage and are secured to thegunder surface of the plate, the depending arms 34 of which are properly spaced to 'slidablyengage opposite surfaces of the Walls 30 of the channel, to provide a track for limiting travel of the plate 3| to directions parallel to the walls of the channel. A reinforcing angle 35 is preferably secured to the underside of the plate 3| at its forward edge. The bottom web 29*of: the channel is slotted as at 36, shown in Figures and 7, and bolts 3], provided with wing nuts, pass through the plate 3| and slots 36 to provide means for securing the plate against motion.

The rearward portion of the plate 3| corresponds generally with the plate 20 of themeviously described embodiment,; and supports a similar clamping plate 38, a spacer 39, a tongue 40 and tightening bolts 4|, all of which are arranged and operate in precisely the manner of the previously described corresponding elements. Sincethe flat upper surface of the plate 3| extends the full width of the beam, no cap plate as 2| is necessary. The screws 42 secure the various angles to the underside'of the plate 3|.

In the embodiment of Figures '7 and 8,.the beam and clamp'are combined in a singleassembly. A mainplate 43 extends the full width of the assembly, and to its forward lower surface, by screws 44, is secured a reinforcing memb81145. The clamping is accomplished by a jaw plate 46, spaced at :itsforward edge from the under surface of the plate 43 by a spacer 41, and a tongue 48 being interposed. Bolts 49 provide for the clamping action, this assembly being precisely as described above in connection with the other forms. T

In each of themodifications described, it will be appearent that the beams comprise bodies made up of a number of laminations; thus beams somade are peculiarly suitable for manufacture from the artificial materials described abovewith the attendant advantages mentioned.

Artificial plastics are also peculiarly suited for use in pen clamps of the '{type common to the various forms of beams illustrated. :Such materials are ,absolutely uniform, and therefore provide a completely. uniform clamping as the jaws are. both made. of 'such material, which may be accurately'finished to precise dimensions throughout the lengthof the .beam The use of such material not only, avoids the non-uniform action of wood, butavoids the difficulty and expenseinvolved in 'thef provisionof metal/jaws.

' From the. foregoingit'is thought that the con-l struction, operation and many advantages of the herein described invention will'be apparent to those skilledin the 'art without further description, and it' will be understood that changes in the size, shape andminor details may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention as :set forth-in the accompanying claims.

I claimz f l. A penbeam for rulingmacliines" comprising an elongated supporting member for transverse mounting upon a ruling machine, a penpholding member slidab'ly engaging the upper surface of and supported by the supporting memben'means for limiting motion of the pen holding member upon the supporting member to directions that are parallel to the supporting member, and means for securing the pen holding member in adjusted position upon the supporting, member.

2; A pen beam for ruling machines comprising a supporting bar in the form of an inverted channel for transverse mounting on a ruling machine, a pen supporting member overlying and'slidable upon said channel andcarrying on its lower surface angular means having arms parallel to its under surface and that ride, onthe edges of the I side walls of the channel, saidmeans having also depending arms that slidably engage relatively opposite sides of said channel, means for securing the pen-supporting member in longitudinal adjustment upon the channel, and pen-clamping means carried by thepen-supporting member.

3. Pen clamping means for a ruling machine pen beam, said means comprising a pair of elongated superposed plates'adapted for transverse mounting on a ruling machine, said plates having fiat surfaces in face to face relation, means amma 3 V for angularly relating said flatsurfaces transversely of the plates, means for bringing the rear-' ward edge of the .flat'surface of one of the lates; into clamping relation with the fiat surface of the other plate to form a'pen clamp, and an elastic tongue secured to one of the plates "for-' wardly of the said rear edgethat forms the clamp, said tongue extending freely from its point,

4. Pen clamping means for a ruling machine pen beam, said means vcomprising elongated superposed members'ehaving flat surfaces inface to face relation, said members being adapted for transverse mounting on a ruling machine, the" rear edges of the flat surfaces of saidmembers theirrear edges, andmeans located between said spacer and said rear edges for drawing together said edges to bring them in'to clamping relation to form a pen clamp. L

ALBERT BROADMEYER. 

